Video Vault: Goofy ’80s comedy has brains, too

Friday

Mar 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 28, 2008 at 1:50 PM

“Real Genius” is a genuine ’80s time capsule, from Val Kilmer’s haircut to Patty D’Arbanville’s giant glasses to the casting of William Atherton (“Ghostbusters,” “Die Hard”) as the villain. But it’s also a pretty good comedy.

Will Pfeifer

“Real Genius” is a genuine ’80s time capsule, from Val Kilmer’s haircut to Patty D’Arbanville’s giant glasses to the casting of William Atherton (“Ghostbusters,” “Die Hard”) as the villain. But it’s also a pretty good comedy.

Released in 1985 — a year after “Revenge of the Nerds” — the movie focuses on Mitch (Gabe Jarrett), a young science geek who gets a scholarship to Pacific Tech, where his invention is used to develop a secret weapon for the government. Luckily, he also meets an older, cooler brainiac (Kilmer) who teaches him to relax and helps him plot revenge on his scheming professor (Atherton). Kilmer gets all the best lines, but Jarrett (whatever happened to him?) is likable in a low-key way, and, as always, Atherton excels at playing a weasel.

The secret weapon plot is a little too far-fetched, but that hardly matters. The storyline is just an excuse for some smart jokes and quirky, intriguing characters. These geeks aren’t like the pathetic losers of “Revenge of the Nerds.” They’re like the real geeks of the 1980s who, it turns out, pretty much took over the world a decade later.

Will Pfeifer writes about new DVDs on Tuesdays and older ones on Sundays. Contact him at wpfeifer@rrstar.com or 815-987-1244. You can also read his Movie Man blog at blogs.e-rockford.com/movieman.